


Fading Petals

by orphan_account



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Canon, Canon Compliant, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Eventual Relationships, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Haruno Sakura-centric, One-Sided Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-15 04:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7207544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ino-chan…you like Sasuke, right?" "Yeah." "Great! Then I'll be cheering you on. You can count on me to get you two together." Sakura's love for Sasuke was kept secret. After all, she didn't want to lose her best friend.<br/>(Wherein Haruno Sakura is the literal embodiment of 'hos before bros.')</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wilted Blossoms Bloom: Enter! Haruno Sakura

Haruno Sakura was a very shy girl, and she knew it. The parents knew it, the children knew it, hell, even the ANBU watching over a certain blond haired, blue eyed Jinchuriki knew it. Everyone knew Haruno Sakura was shy, everyone.

  
The young child was so shy that she brushed her hair so her bangs fell over her face and all the way down to the tip of her nose, making her look like some kind of ghost from a horror movie. In fact, if her eyes were red, she'd be able to pass as a demon.

  
Her sleeves were long and dangled over her hands, even though her mom cuffed them for her every morning, and she was constantly looking down and drawing pictures in the dirt with the tips of her shoes, pictures that often resembled cherry blossoms.

  
All in all, Haruno Sakura was one of the lowest on the pecking order that was established early on by the young females in the playground, only being beaten out by kids with mental/physical disabilities and the blond haired, blue eyed Jinchuriki that was mentioned a few paragraphs ago.

  
So, that brings us to the start of this story.

* * *

A young, pink haired child sat on the ground near a patch of flowers, brushing away tears to no avail, seeing as they just kept coming back. She sobbed and sobbed, her voice started to get shrill from the constant use.

  
She was the one girl that had been chosen as the main victim of the girls bullying. At first, she thought she could handle it. It had only started off as comments on her forehead, after all. But then, jokes about how big her forehead was, or how chubby her hands were – even though they were just as chubby as everyone else's at her age – had been thrown in.

  
And then, it got even worse. They pulled her hair, tripped her, and even threw sand from the sandbox at her eyes.

  
She knew she should tell her parents, but she didn't want to. They wouldn't be proud of her if she did. She wouldn't be their 'brave little blossom' if she whined and complained. The pinkette hiccuped and tried to brush away her tears.

 

She knew she had to go home soon, and she wouldn't be able to blame all her sobbing on a scraped knee, especially if it was in perfect condition.

  
"So you're the Forehead Girl?" a voice spoke up, breaking through Sakura's quite sobs. She let out a terrified squeak and glanced up at the speaker – crouching down over her – through the cracks in her long bangs.

  
"W-Who are you?" she whispered, wiping another tear away from her puffy eyes.

"Me?" the stranger asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm Yamanaka Ino. How about you?"

"Sakura," the pinkette whispered.

  
"Huh?" Ino asked, cupping a hand around her ear and leaning forward a bit more, "I can't hear you."

  
"Haruno Sakura!" Sakura snapped, sniffling a bit.

  
Ino smiled and poked Sakura's forehead, "So this is the famous Billboard Brow?" she brushed Sakura's hair back a bit, "Hiding it makes it worse, ya know," Sakura blinked and looked up into Ino's eyes. The Yamanaka girl was almost like an angel.

  
"Come back tomorrow," Ino said, getting up, "I have a present for you."

* * *

_"Sakura," Ino said, turning to me. We were back at the park again, swinging our too short legs over the side of a bench, "why are you growing your hair out?" she asked, her expression serious._

  
'Because,' _I thought,_ 'Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair.'

" _Ino's growing hers," I said, "so I'm going to grow mine, too." I forced a smile, "I want to be like you, after all!"_

  
_A beat. "Sakura~!" Ino squealed, glomping me around the shoulders, "You're just so cute!"_

_"I-Ino-chan?!"_

* * *

_Ino mumbled something about Akimichi and how much they eat under her breath before turning to me and raising an eyebrow. "Sakura, why do you have an extra chocolate in your bag?" she asked._

_'I was thinking that maybe I'd have enough courage to give it to Sasuke-kun,' I thought. Of course, I could never say that out loud. "I'm…," I started, trying to think of an excuse as my eyes scanned the classroom before landing on a certain blond sitting alone in the back row._

_"… I'm going to give it to Naruto-san," I said, "He's always alone, so I thought it might be nice."_  
_Ino shook her head, "You're just too nice, Sakura-chan. You could always give it to your crush or something."_

_"But I don't have one, Ino-chan."_

* * *

_"A-Ano, H-Haruno-san," Hyuga Hinata said, pushing her fingers together nervously as she spoke, "D-Do you l-l-l-l-like –"_

_"Hinata-san, right?" I said, smiling at her, "I only gave the chocolate to Naruto-san in order to cheer him up." The look of pure relief and joy on Hinata's face almost made my heart melt._

_"Sakura-chan!" Ino called, running over. She stopped into front of Hinata and I. "Oh," she said, "Hinata-chan's with you, too." Hinata blushed and looked down, seeming to be on the verge of tears._

_Ino, on the other hand, just kind of stared at the heiress of one of Konoha's most prestigious clans for a second before a sly smirk made its way up her face. "Don't tell me," she giggled out, elbowing me in the side and waggling her eyebrows at Hinata, "you two got into a fight about Na –"_

_"Ino-chan!" I yelped out, holding a finger to my lips, "Shhhhhhhh!"_ 'I don't want Sasuke-kun to hear and get the wrong idea.' _"You're going to embarrass Hinata-san if you say that out loud," I chastised._

_Ino blinked, then threw her head back and cackled like a witch._  
________________________________________________-----------------------_____________________________-----------------------------_______________________________------_  
_"Sakura-chan! Hinata-chan!" Ino yelled, running over, "I'm going to ask Sasuke-kun out today!"_

_"T-That's great I-Ino-chan," Hinata said, her voice just a bit louder than it was a month ago when I met her. Ever since the chocolate incident, she'd just kind of been absorbed into Ino and I's little group, making the duo a trio._

_"Good luck, Ino!" I said, "I'm rooting for you."_ 'Even though I like him too.'

* * *

_"Ahahahaha…" Ino rubbed the back of her head, "He turned me down."_

'Thank kami.'

_"I-It's okay, Ino-chan," Hinata said, putting a hand on Ino's shoulder, "T-There w-w-will be other chances."_

_"Should I ask him to reconsider?" I asked._ 'What the hell are you saying?!' _I thought, '_ You're helping her?!'

_"Sakura!" Ino said, hugging me, "You're the best!"_

* * *

_"Go away", Uchiha Sasuke, the school's heartthrob (and both Ino and I's crush), snapped, turning away from me and starting down the hall._

_I rushed after him and cut him off, "U-um, if you would…"_ 'Say Ino's name. Say Ino's name. Say Ino's name. You're not confessing for yourself, you're confessing for her!'

_Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh, '"I'm not going to go out with yo–" '_

'Ino deserves him more!' _"Please go out with Yamanaka Ino!" I shouted, bowing to him. Sasuke just blinked._  
_"…."_

_"…."_

_"….."_

_"…"_

_"…What?" he asked._

_"Please go out with Yamanaka Ino!" I repeated, feeling my face heat up, "The blond!" 'Just kill me now!' "The one who just asked you out!"_

_"…Hn."_

'Ahh,' _I thought, '_ he's walking away.'

* * *

_"Sorry, Ino-chan," I mumbled, "It didn't work." '_ The first time I talked to Sasuke-kun, my crush…'

_"That's alright, Sakura," Ino said, smiling._ '…And I'm asking him to go out with my best friend.'

_"Should I try again later?"_ 'There is seriously something wrong with you!' _I told myself._

_"No," Ino shook her head, "he'll think I'm too persistent. Thank you anyways, though. Oh, we're going over to Hinata's today, right?"_

* * *

Sakura's emerald pools blinked open as soon as the sun hit them. Groaning, the thirteen year old sat up and stretched. She smacked her lips a few times and swung her legs over the bed, making her way to her dresser.

She ran a brush through her hair a few times until there weren't any knots, then tied her bangs back with a ribbon. The Haruno pulled her night shirt off and bound her chest with wrappings, before pulling on a small, black undershirt that was connected to wire mesh.

"Sakura?" her mother, Haruno Mebuki, shouted up, "I heard your footsteps, are you up?"

"Yes, mom," Sakura called down, tugging her dress on and zipping it up. Since she'd been studying late the previous night, she still had her spandex on. She yanked on her sandals and popped out of her room.

Mebuki opened the door to her own bedroom, yawning. "Do you need me to make you lunch?"

"No," Sakura said, shaking her head, "Since we're taking the test today, Hinata's helping one of her maids make bento's for us all."

"Well," Mebuki huffed, putting a hand on her hip, "You make sure that you bring her in some of the Haru Bakery's finest pastries."

Sakura rolled her eyes and started down the stairs, "I'll pick some up on the way out."

"Make sure to eat breakfast!" Mebuki shouted down, before going back to sleep. Since Sakura's dad came from a civilian background and her mom from Kiri, she had a well-mixed life. Haruno Kizashi woke up early in the mornings to bake and prepare the shop, and her mom went in an hour before it opened to run it.

It was a very good business, putting her family on Konoha's map in the civilian world. Any and all tourists were referred to the bakery as much as they were to the Hokage Monument or the famous Memorial Stones.

Sakura quickly heated up a skillet and cracked a few eggs into a bowl, beating them together with some vegetables and meat with her chopsticks. Around five minutes after she poured them into the pan and warmed the pre-cooked sausages in the oven, she took a seat at the table and dug into her food.

When the pinkette was done, she brought her dishes to the sink and quickly washed and dried them, putting them back in their places before grabbing her bag and leaving for the Academy.

When she finally got to the school, she quickly rushed into her classroom and looked around for any fangirls. Seeing none, she slid into the seat next to Sasuke. The boy turned to her and raised an eyebrow, "You haven't done that in months," he commented.

Sakura gave him a small smile and tried to hide her blush, "Ino wanted to sit next to you today."

"Couldn't she come in early, then?"

Sakura shook her head, "She needs time to get ready." Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned back to watching the window. Sakura put a hand to her cheek to feel if it had heated up. She let out a small sigh when she found that it felt normal.

Sasuke looked back at her out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

"Team Seven, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura," Sakura looked up and turned to Naruto, who sat behind her. She held up a thumbs up, and he grinned back. "And Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka-sensei finished.

Sakura could feel Ino's shock from across the room and quickly raised her hand, "Um, sensei, why am I on this team?"

"It is tradition that the highest scoring child, Sasuke, and the lowest scoring child, Naruto, be put together with a kunoichi of high smarts," Iruka-senei explained, "You had the second highest score on the written test."

"But I'm the second highest," Sakura protested, "Shouldn't the highest be put on Team Seven?"

Iruka-sensei sighed, "She needed to be put on a team with two certain clan members; that is also tradition."

All heads turned to Ino, who looked like a deer in headlights. Sakura felt her eyes go wide, "But," she started, "But, I…"

"Sakura," Iruka-senei said, "The teams have been decided by the Hokage. You cannot change them."

"Yes, sensei," the pinkette murmured.

* * *

"I still can't believe it," Ino groaned out, brushing her hair. The trio of friends were all in no's bedroom, having decided to stay the night, "You got on a team with both of our crushes."

"Sorry," Sakura said, running a comb through her own locks.

Hinata shuffled around her bag for a brush to do her hair as well, "It's okay, Sakura-chan. T-The teams were made for a reason."

Ino sniffed, "They could still take romance into account. Anyways, where are you guys going to wear your protectors? I'm using mine as a belt."

"Around my neck," Hinata said.

Sakura glanced down, "My forehead."

"That's unoriginal," Ino commented, "Why not as a headband?"

"That's what your ribbon is for."

"Hmmmm," she held up a strand of her hair, "I think I'm going to switch shampoos soon, this isn't silky enough. Oh! I got you guys some stuff!" The Yamanaka got up, pulling out a few boxes and handing them to her friends, "Here, open them!"

Hinata nodded, taking the top off. Inside was a sleeveless lavender hoodie and tight fitting, light weight pants, complete with about five pockets running up and down the outer sides of the legs. A belt with cylindrical holders hung off it and box-like pouch on the right lay under them both.

"The jacket has lots of compartments inside, too," the blond said, "Since you've liked poisons since Sakura lent you that book. The belt can hold your viles and senbon."

Hinata smiled, "Thank you, Ino-chan."

"No problem. There are also some bandages for you to wrap your wrists. I remember you mentioned that it helps with Juken. Anyways, Sakura! Your turn!"

The Haruno opened her, revealing a scarlet mock neck and matching gloves that went from the first knuckle on her hand to her shoulder. There was also a scarlet apron skirt that was slit on the front, back, and sides, where it was held together by buckles. Under it all were a pair of black, spandex short shorts.

"Ino," Sakura breathed out, "This is…"

"Amazing, right?"

"How much did it cost?" She asked.

"There is no way in hell you are paying me back," Ino snapped, "They're gifts. Got it?"

Sakura pouted, "Fine. But isn't the skirt way too revealing?"

"There are some things called shorts," Hinata deadpanned, and Ino burst into giggles.

"Let's rest up," Sakura said, putting her clothes back in their box and pulling a blanket over her head, "We need to get up early tomorrow." Ino nodded and climbed into her futon, Hinata doing the same.

"Goodnight," The Hyuga called.

"Night," Ino mumbled.

Sakura smiled and closed her eyes. That night, she dreamt of onyx eyes and her lips turned up in a sly smirk.

* * *

_"I'm Haruno Sakura," I said, "I like…," I glanced down at the floor as Sasuke's face popped up into my mind, "…sweet things," I picked up, still staring downwards, "hanging out and training with my best friends Ino and Hinata, and reading up on strategies and different types of jutsu. I don't like…," 'the fact that me and my best friend have the same crush,' "…spicy foods, or when people look down on others."_

  
_"I currently don't have a dream," I lied. I looked up to find both Sasuke and Naruto were looking at me, along with Kakashi-sensei. Gulping, I added something else, "But I do wish to be a capable kunoichi," I finished up._

_Kakashi-sensei nodded, "Okay, the grumpy chicken goes next." I found myself holding in a giggle._

* * *

The next morning, Sakura woke up before Ino and Hinata. She re-did her chest bindings, seeing as they had loosened overnight, and pulled on the mock neck Ino had gotten her. She slipped on her short shorts and apron skirt before tugging her gloves on. 

Sakura wrapped her thighs and buckled up her holster. Running a brush through her hair a few times, she tied it back with Ino's ribbon. The pinkette looked down at her forehead protector, then to her skirt.

She quickly pulled the piece of clothing off and took the pins out of her protector, then re-did it on the left flap on the front of her skirt.

"There," she whispered to herself. Getting another idea, she took off her holster and wrapped the piece of cloth from the forehead protector around her wrappings, before putting her holster on again.

Sakura smiled, then slipped her stuff in her bag and threw it over her shoulder, heading down the stairs of the Yamanaka household. She quickly passed Inoichi, who was sipping on a cup of tea. She curtly explained her early departure – "Training, and I have to drop my stuff off at home" – and then headed out the door.

Sakura hurried down the street, passing by a few vendors who were starting to set up their stalls. A few gasped at how early the young kunoichi was up – seeing a thirteen year old waltzing around town at four in the morning was definitely not normal –, and immediately started firing questions at her.

One of them included Takashi, a boy that was a few years older than her and helped his father run their family's takoyaki stand.

"'Kura?" he asked, seeming a bit bewildered. Sakura stopped walking and turned to him. "What are you doing up so early?" he did a once over of her, and his eyebrows seemed to disappear into his hairline, "And why are you dressed weirdly?"

Behind the black haired, brown eyed boy, a balding man turned around, "Your father making you run errands this early?" Tadashi, Takashi's dad, asked.

Sakura shook her head, "No, I'm coming home from a friend's house."

"They kick you out or somethin'?" Tadashi asked, grabbing a few ingredients from a bin and starting to chop them up.

"No," Sakura said, "I just have to drop this off early, I have training from now on."

"Training…," Takashi muttered, before it all clicked, "You passed! Congrats, 'Kura!"

Sakura nodded in thanks, "I have to go," she said, waving goodbye and starting back down the street.

"Drop by with your teammates when you're done," Tadashi called down, "It'll be on the house!"

"Thanks!" Sakura called back. The pinkette smiled to herself and started to hum. Maybe her team wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would be.

* * *

A few hours later, she sat on the ground, erasing another drawing that she'd scribbled in the dirt with her hands. "This is so boring, 'ttebayo!" Naruto whined, "It's been, like, ten hours."

From a few feet away, Sasuke glared at the blond. "It's only been three," Sakura corrected, drawing a face, then adding a few whiskers to it.

Naruto stared down at the drawing, "Is that me, 'ttebayo?" he asked, his eyes sparkling. The pinkette looked up to him, then added two triangles on top of the head.

"It's a cat," she said, before erasing it and starting on another doodle.

Sakura could hear Ino now. 'Sakura!' the blond would yell, 'What the hell are you doing?! Your nails are getting all dirty! Come with me, we have to clean them! If a boy sees, he could tell others and it would start a rumor that you don't care about your nails.'

"I don't care about my nails, though," Sakura muttered to herself. Sasuke's head shifted just enough so he could look at her. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. Sakura felt her face heat up, and she quickly went back to drawing her family's shop.

While she and Sasuke couldn't be considered friends, they were closer than he was with any of the other peers. Unlike the crazy Sasuke fans in the class, who just stalked him and asked him out, when she went to talk to him, she was retrieving information for Ino.

And slowly building up a relationship between him and herself.

By the second year in the Academy, it dawned on Sakura that she was raising her chances of getting with him. She stopped talking to him for a month or two, but that only resulted in him stealing glances at her every once in a while.

So, after three months of chatting away with the boy, she made it known that she was only in it for Ino. Walking up to him after class, she'd started listing off her best friends best qualities and asked him to date Yamanaka Ino for the second time.

"What about your nails, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

Sakura blushed and shook her head, erasing the picture in the dirt and starting to sketch a cherry blossom.

"Nothing," she said, looking down at her hands. Her nails were chalk full of dirt, the beds stuffed with it and the cuticles caked so much they looked brown.

Okay, maybe she should stop using her fingers to draw. At this rate, she'd actually chip a nail.

The Haruno knew she could retrieve a stick or a stone to draw with, but she really didn't want to leave and risk Kakashi-sensei arriving while she was gone. That would only make her look bad, and she didn't want to leave a bad impression of herself on her first genin sensei.

Then again, he was over three hours late. There was a chance she could go to the other side of the village to get a stick from the Nara compounds forest and return and the albino man still wouldn't have shown up.

Sakura sighed, "Why's he so late," she asked softly.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, leaning towards her, "Sakura-chan, I couldn't hear you."

"I said," she mumbled, "'why is he so late'?"

"Oh," he grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry, I can't answer that one, 'ttebayo." Sakura contemplated getting up and walking away.

"He was late yesterday, too," Sasuke spoke up, shocking Naruto.

"Teme," he started, which earned him a scowl from Sakura, "You actually talked willingly!"

"Of course he did," Sakura snapped, "He's comfortable with the people here. And don't call him Teme, it's rude."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Comfortable?" he asked.

Sakura's face went red, "By that, I mean with Naruto," she said, somehow finding it within herself not to stutter, "You guys are friends, right?"

Naruto scowled, "Are not, dattebayo!" he exclaimed.

Sasuke grunted in agreement.

"Oh," Sakura said, looking to the ground, "My mistake. But, we could all be friends!" she turned to look at Naruto, then to Sasuke, "I mean, I know you both. 'A friend of a friend is my friend?' Right?"

"It's 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,'" a voice spoke up, "But that could work, too."

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all whirled around to find Kakashi-sensei standing right behind them, his visible eye curled up into a 'U.'

"You're late, dattebayo!" Naruto yelled, getting to his feet and pointing at his teachers face.

"Naruto," Sakura hissed, grabbing the back of his jacket and pulling him to the ground, "Be nice."

"Fine," he grumbled, crossing his arms as he glared up at his sensei, "But he's still late."

"We know," Sasuke mumbled.

"I bet you he knows, too," Sakura said lowly, turning to look at him.

Kakashi-sensei chuckled, "Well, you see, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around the village."

"That's ether a far-fetched lie," Sakura deadpanned, "Or you're one of the slowest Shinobi I know."

Kakashi-sensei looked down at her, "What happened to the quite little girl that I saw yesterday?"

"She disappeared," Sakura said, crossing her arms, "That's what happens when you deprive me of both food and sleep."

"Oh!" Kakashi-sensei exclaimed, "You listened to me!" he turned to Naruto and Sasuke, "Did you two fast as well?"

They shook their heads yes. Kakashi-sensei nodded to himself, "Good," he said, and pulled an alarm clock out of kami knows where – Sakura really didn't want to attempt to figure out how.

The albino twisted a few thing-a-ma-jigs, then set it down on top of the stump, "Okay," he said, "You have until twelve to take these from me." He unfurled his hand and two bells jingled down. "The two who get them pass. The one who doesn't fails."


	2. Bells and Names: The Test of Teamwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bell test begins ... and ends, tbh, I'm not dragging this out more than needed

"Come at me with the intent to kill," Kakashi-sensei said, looking at the genin's of Team Seven straight in the eye. A second passed in silence, then everything exploded.

Sakura tuned everything – mainly Naruto's protests – out. Two people. The pinkette knew she had to be one. She couldn't just leave Ino behind, she needed the Yamanaka. She also had to get Sasuke through, as well.

Ino would be crushed if he didn't get through. But, Sakura glanced over to Naruto; Hinata would be just as depressed if Naruto failed. _'What do I do?!'_ she thought, frantically going through strategies and ideas in her brain.

' _I can't leave ether of them behind! Naruto's like a brother, almost, and Sasuke…I wouldn't be able to…Ino wouldn't be able to…'_

Sakura plucked out a plan from her brain and immediately started analyzing it. If someone got a bell, they could cut it in half, then take the ringer inside of it and give it to the third person, that way, everyone would have a part of the bell.

Kakashi-sensei never said it had to be intact, after all. Sakura stored the plan away, then scoured for another one.

Everyone could make a clone and henge it into a bell, that wouldn't be too hard. Kakashi-sensei never said it had to be one of his bells. Sakura smiled; the plan had tons of loopholes. If she could just make use of those holes and get the others to use them, they could all pass!

She could also give the boys directions on how to get the bells. Being cunning and getting out of tough situations way part of being a kunoichi, after all, so maybe if she explained them to Naruto and Sasuke, they'd be able to pass using to idea's, then Kakashi-sensei could see how smart she was, then he'd pass her, too.

Perfect! That would be her first plan. The henge would be the back-up and separating the bells could be last resort.

"Sakura," Sasuke voice broke through her thoughts, "Are you okay."

Blushing, Sakura nodded, "Y-Yes. I'm fine, Sasuke-ku-san." He raised an eyebrow at the mistake, and Sakura felt her face beginning to burn.

"Is everyone ready?" Kakashi-sensei asked. He didn't even wait for anyone to say yes. "Start!" the man snapped.

"Naruto, Sasuke! I have an –" Sakura watched as the two sped into the forest, "idea," she finished. The pinkette looked around and sighed. Not even ten seconds in and her plan was a wreck.

"Gonna move?" Kakashi-sensei asked, his voice a bit too cheery. Sakura took a breath and slid her foot back, getting into the stance Hinata had taught her – though her hands were balled up into fists since she couldn't do juken.

Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow, "That's a Hyuga's battle stance," he pointed out, turning a page in his book.

"I know," Sakura said, shirting her elbow back a bit, "A friend taught it to me." She ground her foot into the dirt and spun around, ducking low to the ground and sending a fist towards Kakashi-sensei's kidney.

He simply stepped to the side as Sakura blew past him. Gritting her teeth, she straightened up and tried to punch him again, this time aiming for his lower back. She could practically see her teacher roll his eyes as her ducked to the ground and swiped at her feet with his own.

Sakura jumped over them, but he angled the tip of his right foot up so it hooked under her ankle mid-jump. Her eyes went wide. Kakashi-sensei did another eye smiled and yanked his leg back. Sakura yelped as her legs were pulled out from under her.

Her back hit the ground with a dull 'thwack,' and she looked up to find Kakashi-sensei reading his book.

"You're dead," he said, "The enemy's won." Sakura growled and scrambled to her feet. "Did I not just say that you're dead?"

"You did," she whispered, getting back into the Hyuga's fighting stance, "But this isn't a real battle, so I'm allowed to get up and try again."

A small spark of humor seemed to ignite in Kakashi-sensei's eyes as Sakura pushed her right leg back a little more. "Hah!" she yelled, and whipped around, bringing up the said limb and snapping it out in a high kick that was aimed at her sensei's head (though since she was so short, it only reached his shoulder).

Kakashi-sensei caught her ankle, and his eye widened a fraction of a millimeter, "You're stronger than you look," he said, "If you _somehow_ manage to pass, I'll have to take advantage of that."

Sakura felt a tic form on the back of her head and bent down backwards, pulling a kunai from her leg holster. Twisting around as best she could, she aimed at the back of her sensei's knee, ready to drive the blade in as deep as she could – there were medic-nin's for a reason, after all.

Kakashi-sensei raised his leg and kicked her kunai away, before pocketing Icha Icha.

Reaching down with his free hand he grabbed the back of her shirt and hoisted her up so she was level with his chest. "It's good that you changed to an outfit better suited for fighting," the Hatake said, lifting her up a bit more, "But that doesn't mean anything if you can't fight."

Kakashi-sensei threw Sakura back towards the tree line.

The girl yelped and attempted to twist midair. It didn't work, and she landed hard on her side, skidding over a root and through a thorn bush. Sakura held her arms up and prayed that her gloves would protect her arms.

When she finally stopped, Sakura realized she hadn't traveled at far as she thought. She was only a meter or two away from Kakashi-sensei. The said man put a hand to his chin, "Did I use too much strength?" he asked himself.

Sakura wanted to yell yes, but she knew that would give away her location. And not just that, she hadn't really gone that far, ether. If this had been a real battle, she knew she'd have broken bones and would have slammed into at least one tree.

Not only had the strength or stamina her sensei had used on her been little to none, he'd actually aimed to throw her into a soft spot. And to make it even better, it was right between two trees, so he'd made it look like it was a fluke.

"So this is a jonin," she muttered quietly to herself.

Struggling to her feet, Sakura let out an annoyed huff of air and pulled out two kunai. She turned around and dug them both into the tree next to her. The pinkette slowly climbed to the top, grabbing onto the lowest branch and hefting herself up.

She pocketed her kunai, and pulled a strand of hair out of her face. It'd grown out to reach her waist when pulled up in a ponytail, just the same length as Ino's and Hinata's. Sakura smiled to herself.

When Hinata had seen that her two best friends were growing their hair out, she decided to, as well. Though, while her hair was just as long the others, it was usually kept up in an elegant bun that sat on top of her head.

Sakura blinked and shook her head, wondering why she was thinking of her and her friend's long locks. She glanced around, looking for her teammates, and almost felt her eyes bug out of her head when she found Naruto hanging from a tree by his foot.

Shaking her head, Sakura started to scan for Sasuke, only to see his head lying on the ground. The pinkette nearly fell out of the tree at that.

"Just how long did it take me to climb this tree?" she muttered, grabbing onto the trunk to steady herself.

"Only a few minutes. I just dealt with both of them pretty fast." Sakura whirled around, only to find that she was on the ground again.

The Haruno looked all over to find Kakashi-sensei – she knew that drawl – but couldn't see him. The sound of branches shifting caught her attention, and she turned to face it, ready to right. Sasuke raised a hand in greeting, "Hey," he said.

Sakura blinked, "H-Hey?" she answered hesitantly.

He rolled his eyes and held out his other hand, uncurling his fingers to show two bells. "I got these, you can have one."

Sakura's eyes lit up, "That's great! I actually had a plan to take one apart and give everyone different pieces so we could pass, but we can just take the ringers out and give them to Naruto, instead!" Sakura knew she was rambling, but she just couldn't stop! The pinkette was just so happy that everyone could pass.

"I saw him hanging in a tree over there," she continued, "I think he fell for a trap or something."

Sasuke shook his head, "We don't have time for the dobe," he said.

Sakura frowned a bit, "We should," she said, "We'll make time. All three of us need to pass."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Well," she said, looking down, "I need you to pass. It would be bad for Ino if you didn't." A splash of confusion swam around the Uchiha's eyes at the words. "And Naruto's a friend, so he has to pass, too. And then, I want to be a kunoichi, so I have to, as well."

Sasuke smirked, "Well," he said, "All three of us won't be able to pass."

Sakura's eyebrows knotted together, "Why?" she asked.

"Because I'm dead." He tilted his head to the side and it fell off, rolling towards Sakura's feet. The girl took in a shaky breath and looked down into his dull onyx eyes.

A shrill scream resounded throughout the forest as Sakura's brain shut down and she fainted.

* * *

When Sakura finally came to, she was lying on the ground, spread out at an odd angle. Groaning, the pinkette tried to give up, only for pain to blossom around her back. Sakura winced, "Ouch," she mumbled, her mouth feeling dry.

She rolled onto her stomach and forced herself up into a sitting position. Sakura looked up at the tree she'd climbed earlier, then down to her arms, which were bruised and ached in places they hadn't been before, and decided that she'd probably fallen.

"That must have been a genjustu," she said to herself, getting to her feet and brushing her skirt off. She'd read up on illusionary techniques, but she never imagined that they'd be that…that…

Sakura shook her head and lightly smacked her cheeks.

"Okay, Haruno," she said, raising her arms above her head and stretching, "We have to make three clones and henge them into bells. But," she sighed, "The others can't hold them."

Sakura took a breath and started towards the direction she'd last seen Naruto, "Maybe if I can get to them fast enough," she wondered out loud, "Then they can make one for themselves."

BRRRRIIIIINNNG!

Sakura's hopes were shot down at the sound of the alarm as the pink haired kunoichi realized the test was over. She dragged her feet back into training ground three's clearing to find that a certain blond haired, blue eyed prankster was tied to one of the three stumps that stood a few meters away from a black stone.

Kakashi-sensei looked to her from his position near the stone, then back down to his Icha Icha book, "Take a seat next to your teammate," he said. Sakura nodded, but he didn't acknowledge the gesture. As soon as she sat down, Sasuke strolled in front the opposite direction she'd come in.

Kakashi-sensei sighed and closed his book. Sakura wondered how he saw them with his only eye on his book. Getting up, he motioned for Sasuke to go over towards Sakura and Naruto. "You three," he said, "You fail. Not a single one of you got a bell."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but Naruto cut her to it. "That's not fair, dattebayo!" he yelled, "You're way stronger than us."

"So?" Kakashi-sensei asked, "Sasuke touched a bell, and Sakura was relatively close to almost touching one," the said girl scowled at that, "But you, Naruto, totally failed."

Sighing again, Kakashi-sensei ran a hand through his hair, "I'll give you one more chance for it, though. I'll be back in an hour or so. Sakura, Sasuke; there's bento's behind the stone over there. Since you guys came close to passing, you get to eat."

Naruto yelled something about wanting to eat as well.

Sakura ignored him. "Really?" she asked, saliva forming in her mouth at just the thought of food.

"Yes," Kakashi-sensei said, "Naruto, doesn't, though, so don't give him any."

"What?!" the Uzumaki screamed, thrashing around against his restraints. Sasuke and Sakura leaned away from his legs, neither of them wanting to get hit. "What about me?! Dattebayo!"

"Like I said, you get nothing," Kakashi-sensei said, "Just watch them eat." Naruto growled out some profanities, and Kakashi-sensei laughed. "On some missions, you won't have anything but soldier pills for at least a week; consider this training."

Naruto hissed out a string of insults directed towards the albino. "Though you won't be going on missions like that for a while," Kakashi-sensei laughed out. And with that, he held up a hand and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Well," Sakura said, "That was a bit harsh." Neither of the boys replied, and the team's kunoichi quickly found the settings mood a bit awkward. A minute or two passed, and Sasuke got up and grabbed the bag that held the lunches behind the stone.

Returning, he handed one to Sakura, along with some disposable chopsticks. "There were only two," he said, grabbing his own lunch and utensils, "He must have known only two would do a good job."

"Teme," Naruto muttered.

Sakura sighed and popped the lid off the store-bought bento – she knew there was no way in hell her sensei would have actually made handmade food for his students – and started to dig in, only to stop with her chopsticks halfway to her mouth when she heard a loud rumbling.

Turning to Naruto, she quickly ate the lump of rice she'd been holding and snatched up an octopus wiener – yeah, Kakashi-sensei definitely didn't make it. "Here," she said, "Juts a bit of meat won't kill you."

"But," Naruto protested, "Sensei said you weren't allowed to, 'ttebayo."

Sakura scowled, "There's no way I'm letting you starve," she said, "You don't eat a lot on a normal basis, and when you do, it's ether bad quality or ramen. Skipping out on both breakfast and lunch is _not_ good for you."

Naruto nodded, "I know, 'ttebayo" he said, "But that's all I'm allowed to get."

Sakura sighed and shoved her chopsticks closer to his face, "Eat," she ordered, "Or I'm going to make Sasuke-san pry your mouth open." The said boy, who was currently chewing on a cherry tomato, raised an eyebrow.

Sakura fought back a blush at the sight. He just looked so cute when he was eating! Pushing down her inner fangirl, Sakura thrust the octopus wiener even closer to Naruto's mouth. When the blond opened it to protest again, she shoved the food in.

Naruto made a very interesting face as he started to chew. "Eat," Sakura whispered, picking up another piece of meat. He nodded and swallowed, before opening his mouth. Sakura was about to give him a meatball when Sasuke shoved his chopsticks into Naruto's mouth.

"If we both give him some, we'll each have more to eat ourselves," he explained, not stopping the glare he was sending Naruto as he talked.

Sakura nodded and popped the piece of food she was holding in her mouth. So, for the next ten minutes, they switched between eating and feeding their idiotic blond teammate. That is, until Kakashi-sensei poofed into the training ground with a puff of smoke.

"You three," he growled, and Sakura swore she saw thunder clouds suddenly appear, "Pass." Sakura blinked, then looked over to Naruto, then to Sasuke, before turning back to her teacher,

Putting her chopsticks down on the grass, she picked up her bento and chucked it at Kakashi-sensei's face.

* * *

Naruto had finally been cut down from the stupid he'd been tied to – the rest of Team Seven had actually left him there for a good five minutes as Sakura assaulted her sensei with a barrage of insults –, Kakashi-sensei had already left, and Sasuke was heading towards the Uchiha compound, ready to start his individual training.

Sakura suddenly looked up from the ground, remembering what Takashi had told her earlier. "Hey," she called, turning to her teammates. Naruto actually shifted his entire body once her voice left her mouth, but Sasuke only turned his head towards her.

"Um, I was wondering," Sakura said, "If you guys wanted to go out to takoyaki."

"Can't," Sasuke said, turning his head back to face forwards as he started to walk again. Sakura bit her lip and nodded – even though she knew he couldn't see it. The pinkette's spirits sunk for some unknown reason to her.

' _Don't,'_ she thought, mentally slapping herself, _'He's a teammate. It doesn't matter if he's good looking.'_

She shouldn't like the Uchiha, she knew that. Ino liked him, after all. Ino deserved him, too. She had gorgeous hair, a breathtaking face, and amazing hair. Her curves were just right, and she was extremely smart. Not to mention she was an heiress.

Sakura, on the other hand, well, her hair was pretty, but it was nothing compared to Ino's. And her face, while heart-shaped, couldn't hold a candle to her best friends. In fact, the only good thig about her was her eyes. Besides that, she just had scrawny arms and a flat chest.

"I'll go, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, shaking her from her stupor as he jogged towards her. Sakura looked up at Naruto, taking in his looks, and decided that he was just as hot as Sasuke.

' _So why do I like him?'_ she wondered, _'It can't just be for the looks.'_ She glanced over to where Sasuke was walking away, then to Naruto's grinning face. _'Maybe it's the personality?'_

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said, "You're staring."

"I am?' she asked, rubbing her shoulder awkwardly, "Sorry," she said, "I'm just tired." She looked back to Sasuke, "I think I'm going to go home early."

"Really?" Naruto asked, seeming a bit disappointed, "What about the takoyaki?"

Sakura apologized again, looking Naruto straight in the eye, "Wanna go tomorrow?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, sure," he said, "Tomorrow." He turned around and waved goodbye, walking away with a little less pep in his step.

Sakura looked to him, then back to the training ground. Sighing, she sat down and ran a hand through her hair. "This is messed up," she muttered to herself, lying down on the grass. She stared upwards and glared at the clouds.

They seemed so lazy! They didn't even work as hard as her! All they did was drift along comfortably in the sky…

"Why am I kidding?" Sakura asked herself, reaching out towards them, only to find that her fingers were caked in dirt, "I don't even work hard," she muttered. All she did was train with Hinata when the Hyuga was down, study on her own, and gossip with Ino.

"The only reason I did well was because Kakashi-sensei grabbed onto my foot when I kicked at him," she kept going, starting a full blown rant, "And the form I used was so sloppy! My thumbs weren't wrapped around my fingers when I made my fists like I was supposed to.

"My brain reacted faster than my body did, and even when it did, its reaction was slow. My movements were choppy, too, and…and…and…"

"And you only drew a pointy thing near the end," a very familiar drawl stated.

Sakura sat up and stared at her teacher, "Kakashi-sensei," she said, "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting a few friends," he said, walking over to the black stone.

Sakura got up and followed him, "Are you meeting them here?" she asked.

He shook his head, "No," he said, running his hand over a few characters in one spot, then moving to another, a bit lower on the stone, and repeated the motion. Sakura squinted at the characters, and soon realized they were names.

"They're already here," he finished quietly.

"…Is this a memorial stone?"

Kakashi-sensei nodded, "Yeah," he said.

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed together, "I thought there was one in the field in the park."

"That's the Kyubi Attack Memorial Stone," her sensei corrected, "We also have an MIA Memorial Stone in training ground seven."

"Which one is this, then?" Sakura asked, bending down behind Kakashi-sensei and staring at the names. There were so many, she found it hard to distinguish them, even with the dots separating them. If sensei had found the names easily, he ether went often, or knew the exact placement by heart.

"KIA," Kakashi-sensei replied softly, his one visible eye scanning over the names again.

"Killed in action," Sakura muttered, staring past his hair to the names, "You were in the Third Shinobi World War, weren't you?"

Kakashi turned around, his eye crinkling up as he smiled behind his mask, "Did you think I was older?"

"Younger, actually," Sakura muttered, blushing a bit.

Kakashi laughed and motioned for her to sit down, "Both my teammates are on here," he said.

"I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "It was my fault they died, you shouldn't be sorry." Sakura glanced over to him. "Nohara Rin," he said, pointing to a name, before his finger shifted upwards to another one, "Uchiha Obito."

"Uchiha," Sakura said to herself, "That's Sasuke-san's clan, right?"

"Yeah, but you don't really see a lot of them anymore."

"What happened," Sakura asked.

Kakashi glanced over to her, "I don't think I have a right to say. If you want to know, ask Sasuke yourself." Sakura blushed and turned to the stone, then to her teacher. She got up and dusted her legs off.

"I'm going to head home," she said, "I'll see you in the morning."

Kakashi nodded, never looking away from the names carved into the memorial.


	3. Training and Remembrance: Meet Team Gai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An attempt at character development, more character introductions, and Sakura training

At three in the morning, Haruno Sakura woke up. She quickly went through her routine, washing her face and brushing her teeth – she takes her baths at night – and getting dressed. She grabbed a store bought bento her father had purchased the day before – at her request – for lunch, and an apple for breakfast.

She left her house with a quiet "I'm leaving" and hurried down the street to training ground three, eating the fruit she'd swiped as she jogged.

As soon as she got there, she put her lunch down behind the KIA stone and kneeled to the ground, putting her hands together in a quick prayer to those who died for the village. Sakura got to her feet and walked to the middle of the clearing and started her stretched.

She bent over and touched her toes, staying that way for a full minute before slowly getting back up into standing position. She fell into a lunge and pushed her legs forward, pulling her muscles to their limit.

Holding it for the same amount of time as her toe-touch, she bent back up and repeated the process with her other leg. Another minute and thirty seconds passed, and she bent backwards into a bridge position, pushing her stomach upwards as far as she could.

A minute and fifteen seconds passed, Sakura was counting, and she was getting ready to lower herself again – slowly, always slowly – when: "Young girl, what are you doing?"

Sakura yelped and hit the ground in a not so 'slowly, always slowly' way. _'Goddamnit,'_ she grumbled internally, _'that hurt.'_ Struggling to her feet, she turned to face a man dressed in…green spandex and orange legwarmers.

Sakura forced down a shiver. "I was training," she said, answering the question the fashion monstrosity asked.

The man in front of her grinned, his pearly whites gleaming in the light the sinking moon gave off, "That's very youthful, my youthful; child. I'm Might Gai," he pointed to himself, "Who are you, young blossom?"

"Haruno Sakura," Sakura said quietly, bowing lowly to him. When it came to people she'd only just met, she was very polite. Though Kakashi-sensei had been excluded from that, seeing as his actions made her respect for him go down.

"Sakura-san," Gai-san said, "You just recently graduated, yes?" Sakura nodded. "It is very youthful of you to dedicate yourself to training this early in your career."

"Thank you, Might-san."

"Tell me," Gai-san said, sitting down on the grass across from Sakura. The young girl hurriedly followed his actions, "What style of taijutsu do you use?"

Knowing that it was already bad enough that she knew the Hyuga taijutsu kata's, not to mention showed their fighting style to Kakashi-sensei, Sakura shook her head. "Only the Academy standards," she said.

Gai-san frowned, "Well," he huffed out, crossing his arms, "That's just boring." Leaning forwards, he grinned at Sakura, "Do you want to do some early morning practice with me and my team?" he asked.

Sakura's eyes widened, "W-Would I be able to?" _'I'll be able to train with experience shinobi!'_ she internally squealed, _'There's so much I could learn! I wonder if they have a kunoichi on their team, too!'_

He nodded, "Of course, I was just going to finish up my run to our training ground."

Sakura got to her feet, bowing lowly to Gai, "Thank you so much, Gai-san."

He smiled, teeth flashing, "Well then, come on! We don't want to be late!"

* * *

Sakura dragged her feet into training ground four, utterly exhausted. She'd had to sprint just to keep up with what Gai-san considered a 'light jog,' and even though they'd run from training ground three, training ground four was, surprisingly, a very long ways away.

Half the village away, to be exact.

Sakura, not wanting to seem weak, hid that she was tired, taking in small, sharp breaths, and forcing herself to stay upright. She looked up from where she was staring at the ground, halfway through the run she'd kept her gaze there to assure her mind her legs were still intact, and nearly felt her eyes bug out of their sockets.

"Sakura-san," Guy-san said, "This is TenTen," he pointed to a girl with twin buns, "Rock Lee," this time it was a boy who looked to be his son, "And Hyuga Neji," another boy, this one with his clan's dojutsu and a striking resemblance to Hinata.

"TenTen, Lee, Neji; this is Haruno Sakura."

For the second time that day, Sakura bowed lowly, "I'm Sakura," she said, "It is nice to meet you."

"Tch," a deep, baritone voice snorted out, "Guy, why are you bringing an Academy student here."

"Neji," Guy said.

"Actually," Sakura interrupted, straightening and motioning to her skirt, and the metal plate that was clasped onto the right edge, "I'm a genin."

Across the way, TenTen smiled, "It's nice to meet you, Haruno," she said, walking over and bowing slightly, "It'll be good to have another girl to practice with for once." Sakura nodded. "So," TenTen asked, "What's your specialty?"

"I don't know," Sakura muttered, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, "I only just two days ago." Neji snorted. TenTen turned around and shot the boy a dirty look.

"That means you can explore many things, Sakura-san!"

Sakura turned to Lee, "What do you guys specialize in?" she asked.

"Taijutsu," Lee and Gai-san said at the same time, while TenTen muttered "fuinjutsu" and "weaponry."

Sakura turned to Neji, and made sure to look at his eyes for a while, "Taijutsu?" she asked, pushing down a smile.

He frowned, "I'm guessing you're close with another Hyuga. Well it doesn't matter, one with no clan such as you is fated to be a failure." He turned around and started towards the tree line on the other side of the training ground.

Sakura watched him go, wanting to yell that the Haruno's, while they had no kekkai genkai, were a ninja clan in Kiri. She bit her tongue, though, just glaring daggers at the Hyuga's back. She turned to Gai-san and bowed, "I am sorry," she said, "I made him leave."

Gai-san shook his head, "That's where he trains. Anyways, what are your good points as a ninja?"

Sakura blushed and thought for a moment, "My sensei said I was strong," she said, "I know only that."

Gai-san turned to Lee and TenTen, "Set up traps in the forest, I will get you once I'm done teaching her some kata's. I trust you to sense me when I come and hide." Both genin's nodded and disappeared into the trees. Gai-san looked back to Sakura.

"Strong," he said, "But small," he gave her a once over, "And agile, by the looks of what I saw earlier. I have a style for you, but I only know a few kata's. You'll have to get a scroll at the library for the rest."

The jonin bent down into a forward lunge with his right leg, his left arm positioned firmly across his lower back with his palm open and resting against his skin. His right one was straight across his chest and parallel to the ground with his fingers curled into a fist.

Sakura hurriedly repeated the motion, and Gai-san got up to adjust her elbow, since it was bending down a bit. "Yosh," he said, stepping back, "I want you to stand up and bring your arms to your sides." Sakura did as he said. "Now, step into a backwards lunging with your right leg and your arms switched."

The Haruno moved her right arm behind her and her left arm in front of her. Gai-san again fixed her elbow, then nodded. "Got it?" he asked. Sakura nodded. "Good, I want you to stand up then fall back into the first kata. Make sure your elbow is high."

"Got it," Sakura said.

Gai-san smiled, "It feels weird, I know, but you'll slowly fall into it, then to motions will be easier to use in battle. I'm going to go after my students now. Good luck!" he sprinted off so fast, all Sakura could see was a blur of orange and green, mainly green.

Sighing, she stood, then bent into a forward lunge, raising her arms into the correct position and lifting her elbow until it felt a little too weird to be in its position. Staying there for – one, two, three, four – five seconds, she stood up again and fell down into a backwards lunge.

''While you should train your body,'' Iruka-sensei's voice recited in her head, ''you need to train you mind as well.'' Sakura decided to try to meditate while doing the kata's, and closed her eyes, slowly clearing her mind.

' _Bend.'_ Pushed away.

' _Stand.'_ Pushed away.

' _Elbow up.'_ Pushed away. Sakura was starting to think that meditation was easy. Maybe she could do some before bed, she'd just need to cut back on maintaining her hair.

. Sakura's eyes were still closed, but she kept on doing her kata's.

Breathing out, she stood, then did a backwards lunge, her arms against her chest and lower back. And, of course, her elbow was bent.

In Sakura's mind, however, she wasn't doing any of this. She was simply sitting down in an empty room, her legs crossed and her hands threaded through the others fingers. A few dozen doors lined the walls and rose up the ceiling.

Down near the floor level stood doors painted a light green, one that resembled her eyes, though a few shades lighter. In front of each of them stood important people to her. Mebuki, Kizashi, Ino, Hinata, Naruto – though his door wasn't as close to the ground as the others were – and Sasuke.

She needed to remove them, somehow, to make peace within herself. Sakura decided to use the same method as before.

' _Ino.'_ Pushed away – though with a bit of extra concentration. It was her best friend, after all.

' _Hinata.'_ Pushed away, again, with a little extra work.

' _Naruto.'_ Pushed away.

'Mom and Dad.' Pushed away, with more force needed than Hinata and Ino.

' _Sasuke.'_

Sakura winced and slowly, gently, pushed the boy's face and name away. Even though it wasn't as hard as her parents (she was a kid, she was used to ignoring them), Hinata (she didn't talk that much most of the time, anyways), or Ino (you learn to tune her gossiping out after a while), she wasn't used to having to do something like that to him.

She did idolize him, kind of. Not really. He was smart, handsome, and strong but…Sakura pushed that thought away too, and turned back to her family and friends.

Each of the figures stepped back into their rooms, and the doors softly shut. They didn't lock, however. Sakura didn't want to shut them out, she just wanted to clear her mind. And it was starting to do just that, actually. She was feeling calmer, too.

Breathing in, she slowly opened her conscious, trying to dig deeper into her brain. Maybe if she did this more often, she'd be more in control of her feelings and her body. And maybe even be able to throw her crush on Sasuke away and give him to Ino.

Sakura stopped in front of a door that was painted a deep, crimson red. The handle was crooked, too, and unlike the others, it had a lock, though it wasn't in use. Reaching out, she grabbed the doorknob and turned it…

…only to see a flash of the hem of a red dress and a few locks of pink hair. **'Not yet, Sakura, not yet.'** In the outside world, Sakura's eyes snapped open. **'You can't accept me yet.'**

Sakura stood and looked around, trying to find the voice. There was nothing. Only Kakashi-sensei, sitting in the corner and watching her…

"Gah!" Sakura shouted, flinching away from the man.

Her sensei smiled, "Are you awake now, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded, her heart calming down a bit. "Yeah," she said, walking over to Kakashi-sensei and sitting down next to him, "I was mediating," she explained, "so I didn't really notice you…"

"Gai told me you were training here," Kakashi-sensei said, smiling under his mask, "but I would have never expected you'd be mediating while doing kata's."

"R-Really?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi-sensei nodded, "It's hard to do, you know. You have to have lots of meditating practice under your belt to start doing it while moving. Do you meditate often?"

' _That was my first time,_ ' Sakura thought, before smiling and saying: "Yeah, Hinata, my friends=, taught it to me." It wasn't that much of a lie, after all, Hinata did mediate, and she had told Sakura a few tips before.

"I see," Kakashi-sensei said, looking up to the sky. Sakura followed his eyes, and her own suddenly widened. The sun was rising, that meant it was between five and five thirty, which meant she had a high chance of being late.

"Cra….," she turned to Kakashi-sensei, who was smiling at her, "…crow," she finished. **(A/N Crap and Crow sound similar in the Japanese language. Kuso and Karasu respectively. They sound similar in English too, though, so that's okay!)**

"Nice save," he commented. Sakura blushed.

"I'm late," she muttered, before turning to him, "And so are you."

"Actually, I was there before you all."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips, "Really?" she asked.

He smiled, "Genjutsu," he explained, and Sakura nearly face palmed.

"Why?" she hissed.

"Extra training," Kakashi-sensei explained, getting up and stretching, "But I might as well go early today. If you're doing kata's, then the others need to learn some, too. Which one were you using?"

"Blossom," Sakura said with a blush. Kakashi-sensei threw his head back and laughed.

"That works well for you," he said, "Built for small and flexible people, it was made for kunoichi respectively. You can put strength in it, too. I was thinking of teaching it to Naruto, but since you're using it, we need something else for him."

"Something that can use underhanded tricks and allow makeshift moves," Sakura added.

"I'll probably have to combine a style for him," Kakashi-sensei mused, putting a hand to his chin, "Maybe Fox-Bird?" he nodded to himself, "That'll work. What do you think for Sasuke?"

"He's the fastest in our grade," Sakura said, "And he's good with his kunai and shuriken."

Kakashi-sensei sighed, "I'll have to get the Uchiha style kata's from the Hokage, then. They utilize that, and some fire jutsu, since he already knows some."

Sakura frowned in confusion, "Can't he just ask for them?"

Kakashi-sensei ruffled her hair, "It's not that simple." Sakura scowled. "Anyways, grab a hold of my arm."

"Why?' Sakura asked, taking a hold of his sleeve.

"Shuishin," Kakashi-sensei deadpanned, referring to the technique where you flooded your body with chakra for a second to move at inhuman – or even more inhuman than normal – speeds. Sakura couldn't even say a word before her world disappeared into a swirl of leaves.

Three seconds passed, she counted. When Sakura was sure the said offenders left, she blinked her eyes open –she'd squeezed them shut sometime during the trip– and spat a leaf out of her mouth. "Thanks, sensei," she said sarcastically, stepping away from him and trying not to throw up as her stomach seemed to try and dance its way up her esophagus.

Naruto shot to his feet and pulled out a kunai, facing the opposite direction Kakashi-sensei and Sakura were standing. Sasuke lazily pushed himself up from his sitting position and sent a questioning look towards the young pinkette.

"Dobe," he said, "They're behind you."

Naruto whirled around and charged. Sakura yelped and darted to the side, away from the charging blond. Kakashi-sensei sighed and pulled out his Icha Icha book, slamming the spine down on top of the boys head once he got close enough.

Naruto made a sound that was a cross between a whine and a whimper, there was a bit more whimper in it than whine, actually, and collapsed to the ground, clutching his head and mumbling things about albino cyclopes' with orange… somethings, Sakura couldn't make the rest out, though she knew he probably meant the book.

"Good morning," Kakashi-sensei said, flipping his book open. Sasuke nodded in greeting and Naruto muttered a 'mornin', 'ttebayo.' "So," Kakashi-sensei continued, "Today, I'm going to teach you a few kata's. When we're done, I'm sending you to the library to check some things out."

Naruto shot to his feet, "Katas? What are those? And why do we have to go to the library?! Dattebayo!"

Sasuke sighed, "Kata's are repeated positions that will help you learn a fighting style," he explained,

Kakashi-sensei whistled, "Wow, that's the most I've ever heard you talk."

Sasuke scowled at him, "Hn."

"The library is so you can get scrolls for the kata's," Kakashi-sensei continued, explaining the last part of the day to Naruto, "Understood?"

"Yeah, 'ttebayo," the Uzumaki muttered.

"Good," Kakashi-sensei clapped his hands together, "We're going to warm up. First, stretches. Naruto, you're with me. Sasuke, Sakura," he smiled, "Just don't get to intimate." He proceeded to drag Naruto to the other side of the training ground.

Sasuke's glare was as cold as Sakura's face was hot. The poor girl was red from the tips of her toes to the edge of her ears. "Um, ah, uh, w-w-w-w-what s-s-s-s-s-should we st-st-st-st-start w-w-with?" she asked, wanting to crawl into a hole and die.

Sasuke looked at her and shook his head, "Calm down," he said, "Kakashi was just joking." Sakura turned to look at him. Uchiha Sasuke, the social outcast, was talking about someone that was joking. "Okay," he mumbled, "Maybe I'm not one to talk, but just," he sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "Stop looking like some kind of fangirl."

Sakura nodded, "S-Sorry," she muttered.

Sasuke rubbed his face, "First year of the Academy all over again." It took Sakura a second to realize he was referring to her behavior. The actual idea almost sent her face into full blown tomato mode again.

Sasuke actually remembered what she was like seven years ago.


	4. More Than a Little Skin: Team Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training and a bit of family time

"Do as many push-ups as you can until you drop!" Kakashi-sensei called when stretching was over.

Sakura wanted to die halfway through the said activity, seeing as both herself and Sasuke had had to push each other down so they could stretch farther. Not to mention the stretch where they had to loop elbows and pull the other cross their back. The poor pinkette had been blushing the entire time.

'He's for Ino,' was her mantra the entirety of it all. Though, she didn't say it aloud, of course.

Getting to the ground, Sakura found that her hair only fell over her face when she tried to do a push-up. She sat back up and pulled it out of her face, huffing a bit. "Kakashi-sensei," she called hesitantly, "You wouldn't happened to have some kind of hair tie with you, would you?"

"Hm?" the said jonin looked up from his book.

"Do you have a hair tie?' Sakura asked again.

"Hmmmm," Kakashi-sensei thought for a moment, before shaking his head, "Nope," he said, "But I do have some trap wire."

Sakura sighed, "Can I use some of that." A minute later, Sakura had received a small length of wire, which she tied into a loop then used to tie her hair back. It wasn't that hard, she just had to be careful she didn't cut her fingers. But, besides that, the wire worked nicely.

Tightening her ponytail, Sakura got back down and started to do her push-ups. Naruto was still going, counting twenty out at a slow pace. He seemed to start struggling a bit around fifteen, but didn't look too tired as he continued past the number.

Sasuke was slightly faster than Naruto, and he didn't seem to be breakings a sweat – did he even sweat? – and was around twenty-five, if she was reading his lips correctly. His eyes were focused, staring straight in front of him and he mouthed the numbers silently.

' _He must do this a lot in his spare time,'_ Sakura thought, before shaking her head and bending her arms down into a shaky push up. She nearly groaned, and was huffing at ten. When she practiced with Ino and Hinata, it was never about strength, but form.

Not to mention Ino would only do exercises that would help her stay skinny and fit.

Sakura dropped at twenty, sitting up and blushing. Naruto was shaking, but kept up his pace. Twenty seconds later, he dropped at forty. Sasuke lasted another minute, before stopping at fifty-five. Kakashi-sensei looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Numbers?" Each kid mumbled theirs, and Kakashi-sensei shook his head. "Sit ups are next," he ordered, "Every day you are going to up the number you are at by five. No trying, doing. Got it?"

"Yes," Team even chorused, before getting on their backs and starting their sit-ups.

Sakura was actually confident in herself with this exercise, and was happy to find that she was able to keep up with Sasuke in it. Their paces were even, though their numbers were slightly off, seeing as since Sakura had a chest – no matter how small – she touched her legs a bit earlier than her crush, though she won't admit it, did.

Naruto struggled more with the sit-ups than the push-ups, and was struggling to make his chest meet his knees. "Why, 'ttebayo?" he huffed out.

Kakashi-sensei chuckled, "Kata's and ninjutsu aren't going to help you with everything. You need to be able to grab onto things and haul yourself up easily."

The Uzumaki mumbled something under his breath, before counting thirty-five aloud and dropping onto his back. Sakura and Sasuke were left, and even though both were exhausted, they kept going. Sasuke wasn't going to lose to Sakura, and Sakura wanted to just keep going.

Only went she realized that she was struggling to touch her knees at seventy did she realize she had to do more the next day. The pinkette dropped to the ground, her ponytail trailing behind her. "Done," she said, closing her eyes and turning over onto the cool grass.

Sasuke stopped five seconds later, huffing a bit as he lay down. "Hn," he grunted out.

"Dattebayo," Naruto whined.

"Well," Kakashi-sensei said, snapping his book closed, "that wasn't too bad, excluding Naruto's number."

"Oi!"

"Give me a lap around the village, you can jog or sprint, just stay together, and then we'll move onto the actual training," Kakashi-sensei said, getting up, "I'm going to go out and grab something to eat, since it'll take you guys a while."

Sakura raised a shaky hand and held up a thumbs up, "Got it, sensei," she muttered into the ground, "You're ditching us."

Kakashi-sensei smiled, "Exactly."

* * *

An hour later, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke all dragged their legs into training ground three to find their sensei sitting in front of the memorial stone, staring at the names. "Kakashi-sensei," Naruto called, "We're done, dattebayo."

The albino turned away from the characters engraved in the obsidian, "Alright," he said, getting to his feet. He tossed a scroll to each of the kids, "These will be yours to keep, I bought them. The rest of the kata's, though, you'll need to find in the library."

Sakura gaped, "Thank you, sensei," she said, "How much do I owe you?" Beside her, Naruto started to check his pockets for loose changes to give to his teacher.

Kakashi-sensei shook his head, "You owe me nothing, consider these gifts for becoming genin. Now, I want all of you to take your tops off."

Sakura blinked, then squealed, hiding behind the first person she found, who happened to be Sasuke. Naruto stared at Kakashi-sensei, "Pervert," he deadpanned.

Kakashi-sensei laughed, "Not like that, you idiots. I have these," he held up three sheets of paper, each with the same Konoha symbol on it, "These will be pasted on your body like a tattoo. Don't worry, they come off."

"What do they do?" Sasuke asked, stepping to the side to cover Sakura a bit more. Naruto shifted to, holding out an arm in front of the girl. Unknown to them, the pinkette only blushed.

Kakashi-sensei held up a scroll, "They show me what kind of exercises you need to do to be able to use your fighting style to the best of your ability. Now," he smiled and let a small wave of killing intent seep out, "strip."

"Shirts only, though," he added, "and Sakura, you can keep your undershirt on. There's no way I'm letting you walking around with only chest wrappings with two pubescent boys next to you."

The girl nodded and stepped back. Naruto grumbled something but pulled on his jacket. "Mesh, too, for you boys," Kakashi-sensei added. The blond yanked his mesh armor off and walked over to the stumps, throwing them over one of them.

Sakura turned away to pull off her mock neck, only to see Sasuke yank both his shirt and mesh armor off in one swift movement. She went beat red and stumbled back, covering her face with her hands.

' _Don't get a nosebleed,'_ she thought to herself, trying to push the image of Sasuke's chest out of her mind. _'Do_ not _get a nosebleed, Sakura. Don't you dare embarrass yourself.'_

Both Sasuke and Naruto were well sculpted, and while they didn't have abs yet, Sakura could only imagine both of them grown p and shirtless, they were both extremely gorgeous. Moat girls didn't even notice how hot Naruto was because of his pranking personality.

"Oh how wrong they are," Sakura mumbled to herself, looking up from her palms…only to find her shirtless teammates staring at her. Blushing a bit, Sakura fiddled with her hands like Hinata, "Um," she said, "Could you turn around?"

Naruto blinked, before going red and closing his eyes, covering them with his hands as he turned his back to her. Sasuke's cheeks dusted a light pink, his ears a few shades darker, and he nodded, turning around. Kakashi laughed and did the same as the two boys, smiling the entire time.

Sakura grabbed the edge of her shirt and pulled it over her head. She adjusted her undershirt, making sure her the leather part that was covering her bindings was in place. She looked to see if any of her wrappings were visible, then tightened the upper leather part.

"I'm good," Sakura said, and everyone turned around. Naruto immediately blushed and started whacking his head on a stump. Sasuke scowled and reached over with his leg, kicking the blond hard in the back.

"Ow!" he yelped, whipping around and holding the sore spot, "What was that for?! Dattebayo!"

"For ogling our teammate when you're supposed to be working," the Uchiha said dryly.

Kakashi-sensei raised an eyebrow, "Oh-ho? Is there something going on between our little blossom and death king here?"

"No!" Sakura shouted, a little too quickly and a little too loudly, "I mean, no, there's nothing." Sakura straightened up a bit, "But I do, however, know someone that would _love_ to hook up with him."

Sasuke groaned and ran a hand over his face, "For the last time," he grumbled, "I am not dating Yamanaka."

"Please?" Sakura asked, completely forgetting about Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, "Just give her a chance."

Kakashi-sensei cleared his throat, "While this is amusing," he said, "please keep any and all relationships out of team time. I don't care whose baby daddy you are or whose tonsils you sucked out in the past week; this is training, not a social event. The Academy is over and done with."

"We're twelve," Sasuke deadpanned, "There's no way we'll be doing that."

"Yeah, 'ttebayo," Naruto said, "Teme's right! We're only twelve."

"I'm thirteen," Sakura piped in.

"That doesn't make a difference," Sasuke said.

Naruto, on the other hand, gaped, "You're older than us?!"

Kakashi-sensei shook his head, "You get sidetracked so easily. Okay," he said, this time directing the words to his students, "Now that you all look like you're part of a porno," Sakura and Naruto went beet red at this, "Come here and I'll put the tattoo on."

Kakashi-sensei pulled a towel and a water bottle from somewhere – Sakura truthfully didn't want to know – and grinned, "Who's first?" He scanned all three, "Okay, grumpy!" Before Sasuke could even protest, Kakashi-sensei had somehow crossed the distance between himself and his team and placed one of the strips on Sasuke, taking the towel – which he'd poured water on – and holding it over the tattoo.

The boy sucked in a breath through his clenched teeth, "What the hell?" he growled, rolling his shoulders. Sakura watched as his muscles shifted a bit and fought down another blush.

"Oh, yeah," Kakashi-sensei said, "I forgot to mention it's going to burn."

"I hate you," Sasuke hissed. Kakashi-sensei chuckled at that. Ten more seconds passed, and he took the towel away. Sakura and Naruto leaned closer as he peeled the strip off, leaving a black Konoha symbol right over their teammate's heart.

Kakashi-sensei stepped back and pulled out his scroll. The characters for 'Uchiha' appeared. "Sakura," he said, "You're next." The pinkette nodded hesitantly and stepped forward. "I need you to pull your mesh up a bit."

Sakura complied, and Kakashi-sensei put the strip on her side, a few centimeters above her hip. He wetted the towel with the water again and placed it over the temporary tattoo. Sakura hissed. The albino was right, it did burn.

Ten seconds passed again, and Kakashi-sensei peeled the strip off. Turning to Sasuke, he raised an eyebrow, "Are you going to keep watching or are you going to practice?" the Uchiha glared and headed off towards the other side of the training grounds clearing, unraveling his scroll and studying the kata positions.

The Hatake turned to Sakura next, "You, too." She nodded and headed off. "Okay, Naruto, come here."

* * *

As promised, Sakura took Naruto out to takoyaki after training. The two had done some final stretches and asked Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke if they wanted to come along – okay, it was mainly Sakura who asked – but were turned down by both men.

After throwing their shirts back on and fixing their hair, again, mainly Sakura, they headed out to Takashi and Tadashi's stand. "Excited?' Sakura asked as they turned into the market section of town.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, 'ttebayo! I've never had takoyaki before."

Sakura just stared at him, "Really?"

"Really, dattebayo."

She shook her head, "Tadashi is going to stuff you chalk full of takoyaki." Naruto laughed.

As they passed by a few stalls, Sakura watched as civilians scowled at the blond next to her, muttering horrid things under their breath. The pinkette never understood why people hated him. Sure, he'd pranked most of them, but they weren't that bad.

The worst the Uzumaki had done was paint the Hokage monument – though Sakura, Hinata, and Ino secretly found it hilarious. He'd never even hurt anyone.

"Ne, Naruto," Sakura said.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked over to the boy and shook her head, "Never mind."

* * *

"So," Ino said, hugging the pillow in front of her, "How was training today?" The Yamanaka had invited both Hinata and Sakura over to her house for dinner, and the three were currently in the blond's room, talking about their teams and training schedule.

"It was good," Hinata replied, "Kurenai-sensei said that we were a tracking team, so she decided that for morning practice she'll hide somewhere in the village and we'll have to find her."

Ino huffed, "That sounds boring."

Hinata shook her head, "Not really, it allows me to get used to working with Kiba-san and Shino-san. And it's easier to use my Byakugan if I practice with it."

"Hm? That's interesting," Ino sighed, plopping her chin down in her hand, "I wish I had a dojutsu, they're so cool. And they look pretty."

"Really?" Sakura asked, before realizing her mistake, "I mean, they do look cool, but if you saw them in battle," the pinkette shivered, "I'd turn tail and run."

"Why?" Ino asked.

Sakura shrugged, "I don't know, I mean, most people with dojutsu's are naturally strong. Right, Hinata?"

"I guess," the Hyuga said, pursing her lips a bit, "it still takes time to build up your strength."

"But it gives you an advantage?"

Hinata nodded, "Yes, it does."

"Oh! Oh!" Ino shouted, sitting up straight, "So I did some research into Sasuke-kun's family, you know, the Uchiha clan?"

Hinata and Sakura shared a look. Ino never really knew her boundaries with some stuff. She went so far sometimes, and the two had to pull her aside more than once to explain to her she wasn't able to do it. It didn't always work though.

"Anyways," Ino continued, "I hear they have a dojustsu, too!'

"Really?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I couldn't get the name or what it's like, but I hear it's insanely powerful!" Ino sighed dreamily, "I wonder what it would be like if he stared at me with those eyes. Sakura."

"What?" she asked.

Ino leaned forward and grabbed her best friend by the shoulders, "If you ever see it, you have to draw it for me, got it?"

Sakura nodded slowly, "Got it." _'I really don't get Ino sometimes,'_ the pinkette thought to herself.

"So, Sakura," Hinata said, "Training with Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun? How'd it go?"

Sakura blushed, "We just did kata's that Kakashi-sensei taught us."

Ino swooned, "Sasuke-kun doing a kata. God, the only thing better than seeing his muscles in action would be seeing him shirtless!" The blond squealed and threw her pillow in the air. She then started to roll around on the floor, holding her hands to her chest as she muttered things about the great and powerful Uchiha Sasuke.

Hinata caught the pillow Ino threw and handed it to Sakura, who reluctantly took it. "Imagine," Ino huffed out when she calmed down, "Sasuke-kun doing kata's while shirtless!"

The image, which she'd seen only a few hours ago, popped up in Sakura's brain. Her face lit up scarlet and shook her head, "Ino," she whined, "Get up."

"No."

Sakura chucked the pillow she was holding at Ino's head. The blond sputtered and spat a few times before ripping the fluffy object off her face and sitting up, "Sakura!" she yelled, "Why'd you do that?"

The said girl shrugged, "I don't know."

Ino rolled her eyes and hugged the pillow to her chest once again, "Did you see any interesting things on Naruto?' she asked, waggling her eyebrows at Hinata. The Hyuga blushed a vivid shade of red and suddenly found interest in her hair, playing with a few strands.

"Well," Sakura said, "He was actually really good at push-ups."

"R-Really?" Hinata asked, glancing up.'

Sakura nodded, "Yeah," she said, before switching to a serious tone, "but he's sucky at sit-ups."

Hinata giggled a bit at that, and Ino sighed dreamily, "Sasuke-kun's good at everything," she said, "I wish I was you, Sakura." The blonds nose curled up in disgust, "I'm stuck with a lazy ass and a fatso."

"Shikamaru-san is really smart," Sakura protested, "I hear his IQ is pretty high. And he seems to be motivated when he wants to be," she raced her brain for some good points for Ino's other teammate, "And Choji-san is…kind."

Ino smiled, "Ohhh? Don't tell me you have a crush on Shikamaru."

' _I have a crush on Sasuke,'_ Sakura deadpanned in her head, before realizing her mistake, _'Wait! No! I don't!'_ "No," Sakura said, scowling, "I was just saying good things about him."

Ino scoffed, "If you can find good things in him, then you must like him."

"Ino," Hinata chastised, "That's just an assumption."

"It's the same for you with Naruto, though," Ino huffed, squeezing her pillow a bit tighter.

"Look," Sakura said, "I don't have a crush on –"

"Girls!" Inoichi yelled up, interrupting Sakura mid-sentence, "Dinner!"

In a flash Hinata and Ino were racing down the stairs, trying to beat each other to the food first. Sakura sighed and followed right behind them, happy the conversation was over.

* * *

"Sakura, honey, what are you doing?" Sakura stopped in the middle of one of her kata's, which involved some kind of high kick, and stared at her door. Kizashi was standing in the doorway, staring at his daughter with concern.

Sakura suddenly lost her balance and fell onto her floor with a loud 'thunk.' "Ow," she mumbled rubbing her butt, "Dad," she said, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard a commotion coming from your room," he said, as if it was obvious, "What are you doing?"

"Kata's," Sakura said, blushing a bit as she got to her feet.

Kizashi raised an eyebrow, "River spirits (kappa)?" he asked.

"Kata," Sakura corrected, stressing the syllables, she stepped forward and started to shoo her dad away, "Now go," she said, "Since I'm making a commotion here, I'll just practice at the training ground."

Kizashi glanced at the clock in the hallway, then back to his daughter, "At five in the morning?"

"Training starts at six."

He frowned, "Isn't it dangerous to go out that early?"

"There'll be patrols," Sakura said, "And if something happens I can kawarimi myself out of there." Kizashi blinked. "I'll replace myself with a random object," she explained.

He nodded and bent down, kissing her forehead, "Be safe, okay?"

Sakura sighed, I'm a ninja, dad," she said, "My life will _never_ be safe."

"I know," Kizashi replied, "But a dad can dream."

"Goodbye, father," Sakura said, closing her door.


	5. Climbing Trees: Control is Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh, it's something?

As soon as they got to the library, the genin of Team Seven split up. Not because they didn't want to be anywhere near the loud, boisterous Naruto in a whisper only building, he was pretty quiet, actually, but because all their kata scrolls were in separate shelves.

Sakura pulled a Blossom style kata scroll out and started to look it over where an ear shattering scream was head. A kunoichi only a meter or two away from her yanked out a kunai from her holster and sent Sakura a look.

The girl repeated the action and nodded to the older woman. "Get out!" a female voice yelled, "Idiotic demon brat!" Both Sakura and the kunochi's faced hardened as they put their weapons away.

The woman immediately scowled and stormed off from the other side of the shelf, muttering about how civilians should respect someone who'd had their lives thrown away from birth.

Sakura's eyes drew together in confusion. She shook her head and peeked around her side of the shelf to see if a certain boy was okay, only to find Sasuke's head in her way. The boy was only a row in front of her, and was staring at thing event she'd hoped to see.

Stepping out a bit more, Sakura watched as a blur of orange darted out the library door before sighing and dragging a hand over her face.

"He didn't even do anything," she said loudly, getting the attention of both the librarian that had just kicked her teammates out of the library and the civilians that had thought nothing of it. A few shelves down, some other shinobi scowled at the woman as well.

"He was being a nuisance," she librarian sniffed. Sakura's face grew red. Oh she didn't. Naruto hadn't even done a thing! People like her were the reason that the poor boy hated going into public places! The blond had been fidgeting the entire way to the library, practicing his quite voice just so he didn't annoy anyone!

"How?" Sasuke asked, surprising Sakura, who was about ready to give the woman to her father so he could bake her into a cake. "He didn't even make a noise," the Uchiha said.

The woman opened her mouth to say something, but ended up closing it. After a few seconds, she turned up her nose, "I don't want to hear anything from the heir of a cursed clan," she spat. Sasuke went ridged.

"Take that back," Sakura snapped, losing all control of her actions as she stepped closer to the woman. "The Uchiha's are a clan of Konoha," she said, "they hold more honor in their little finger than you do in your entire body."

The woman gasped, "How dare you," she said, "I am a part of the civilian council."

"And we are shinobi," Sasuke countered, glaring daggers at her.

"You are children," she corrected.

"Who know enough moves to put you in the hospital," Sakura said. Around them, the civilians that had been silently watching gasped and started to mutter. This surely wasn't the cute little Haruno Sakura-chan they knew.

"Is that a threat?" the woman asked.

"It's a fact," Sasuke answered.

"Oh really?" she crossed her arms, "Then I assume that demon can do that as well?" she sneered, "I don't understand. How can our Hokage be so stupid as to let that child be a shinobi, after all he's a –"

"I'm afraid you'll have to stop there," one of the other shinobi in the library said, "Saying anything else is against the law." The woman huffed and turned around walking away.

Sakura turned to Sasuke, "What style was Naruto again?"

"Fox and Bird," he said, turning back to his shelf, "I was going to check out Crow since it's similar to my families kata's, so I'll pick up Bird since it's close."

Sakura nodded, "I'll get Fox."

"Hn. The dobe better be grateful."

* * *

"Okay," Kakashi-sensei said once he arrived. He was, surprisingly, only a half hour late. "I've made a schedule for us. I choose who I want to work with on what day for individual training, for them, I'll arrive early. Kata's will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and whatever I've decided we're going to focus on is going to be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

Sakura raised a hand, "What about everything else?" she asked.

"Your strength and stamina conditioning will be done on your own time," Kakashi-sensei explained, "I don't have time in our training regimen to deal with all that."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "That's because you're always late."

Kakashi-sensei glared at him, "Today," he said, "We'll be starting something very important to a ninja. It's something that will make or break your life in this profession." Sakura's eyes lit up. Naruto grinned, inching closer. Even Sasuke looked a bit interested.

"However," Kakashi-sensei continued, "If you feel that you won't be able to do all of your conditioning in your spare time, then we can do it instead of our focus'."

"No!" Sakura and Naruto shouted at the same time, wanting to learn the important thing. Sasuke glowered at his teacher. The look alone said that he agreed, even if he didn't voice it.

Kakashi-sensei smiled, "Okay then. Starting today, we'll be climbing trees."

Silence filled the training ground. It was so quiet, you could almost head Sakura's jaw fall open. From the trees surrounding a clearing, a bird chirped. The single sound broke the genin out of their stupor.

"You have got to be kidding me," Naruto said, "You have got to be fucking kidding me, dattebayo!" The blond started to wave his arms around as he spoke, "All we've done so far is learn fighting stances and do physical work! Now you're making up climb trees?! Dattebayo!?"

"Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said, "Calm down."

"No, 'ttebayo!" the Uzumaki shouted, "I won't calm down! This is stupid, dattebayo! We should be learning to be ninja's! Not brats!

"Kakashi," Sasuke growled, stepping forward, "The dobe's right, we shouldn't be doing something so childish. We need to become stronger."

Sakura blinked. _'Did he really just agree with Naruto?'_ she thought to herself, shell shocked that the Uchiha would even think about saying the words. **'I know! It's such a surprise!'** a voice replied. Sakura stiffened and glanced around.

No one.

' _It was probably just my imagination,'_ the pinkette concluded.

"Do you mean all of us need to be stronger," Kakashi-sensei asked Sasuke, bringing Sakura back to the present, "Or that you need to be stronger." The boy was silent. "You're selfish, you know," the albino continued, getting Naruto's attention at the words.

"What does this have to do with you being a terrible teacher?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms.

"You don't want the team to get stronger," Kakashi-sensei continued, "You don't give a crap about the others." He was raising his voice now, and Sakura was starting to get scared, "You only want power! You want power to kill someone for what they did to you and your family!"

Naruto winced, backtracking away from the albino. Sakura followed in suit, taking a few steps away from her enraged sensei. Sasuke's jaw tightened, "You should stop while you can," he hissed through his clenched teeth.

"Do you really think," Kakashi-sensei said softly, ignoring the young boys warning, "That you'd ever be able to Itachi on your own?"

"Shut it!" Sasuke snapped, stepping forward, "They can't do anything to help me! Not you, not them, not anyone in the village! Don't you dare go running your mouth about things that don't concern you!"

Sakura's eyes widened. That was the loudest she'd ever heard him talk. "S-Sasuke-san," she said, "You should calm…" her eyes went wide, "Down…," she mumbled, staring straight at his eyes.

"What?" he growled lowly.

"Red," she muttered. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said, "What do you mean, 'ttebayo."

"Nothing," Sakura muttered, shaking her head and rubbing at her eyes, "I just, I thought I saw something."

Sasuke let out a breath and ran his hand over his face. "Calm down now?' Kakashi-sensei asked cheerily. The boy said a few nasty things about the albino, enough to make sakura cover Naruto's ears. Kakashi-sensei clapped his hands, "Well then," he said, "I'm going to demonstrate climbing the tree."

He walked over towards the tree line. Sakura waited for him to stop and grab a hold of one of the towering plants, only to stare in shock as he kept going, walking straight up the trunk of one of the trees. It was as if gravity was ignoring him!

"No. Way," Naruto whispered, gaping at his teacher. Beside him, Sasuke's eyes almost bugged out of his head.

"Well then," Kakashi-sensei called down, "Anyone have any idea how I'm doing this?"

"Magic?" Naruto supplied. Sasuke whacked the boy over the head at that. "Ouch!" the blond whimpered out, holding the sore spot as he turned to glare at the Uchiha, "Teme!" he shouted, turning towards his rival, "What was that for?"

"You were being an idiot," Sasuke said bluntly.

"Was not!" Naruto huffed out, turning his nose up, "Besides, it's not as if you have any better ideas, do you?" Sakura took the t reddening of the boys ears as a no. The pinkette thought for a moment before it came to her. It was just like the leaf sticking exercise Iruka-sensei had them do in the Academy!

"Chakra," the Haruno blurted out, "You can use it to stick things to yourself."

"Actually," Kakashi-sensei said, "It's more of sticking yourself to things. How'd you know?"

Sakura blushed a bit, drawing an imaginary circle in the grass with her foot, "We had to stick leaves on our foreheads a few years ago," she explained, "It was so we could learn how to use the henge."

"And the kawarimi," Sasuke added.

"And the bunshin," Naruto said reluctantly.

"Ah," Kakashi-sensei said, starting to walk back down to the ground, "That. Anyways, chakra, in case you didn't know," that was pointed towards Naruto, who quickly glanced away, "Is a mixture of spiritual and physical energy that we use for ninjutsu."

"So," Sasuke said, "For this exercise, we just have to do what we had to do with the leaf, just with the tree."

Kakashi-sensei smiled, "If you want to stick the tree to your forehead, be my guest." Sakura giggled at that. Sasuke, on the other hand, frowned. "You've got the right idea, though," Kakashi-sensei said, "Think of it as…," he paused, thinking of a word, "Tape. Or glue."

Sakura nodded, "So you have to apply chakra to your feet," she summarized.

He nodded, "Yes. You can't apply to much, or you'll be repelled, but if you apply to little and you'll slip. To only stand on something, you have to have the perfect balance. To walk or run, you have to use a little less than a perfect blend, or else you won't move. Got it?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, 'ttebayo! I've got it."

"Good," Kakashi-sensei said, grabbing three kunai and throwing them at each of his student's feet, "Now, you try. Make a slash mark before you fall, that way you'll see your progress. And before you do anything, I want you to _walk_ up the trees. You'll have better control that way."

"What else can you do besides walk up trees with this jutsu?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, for one, you can walk up almost anything," Kakashi-sensei pointed out, "You can also walk up water, but you have to continuously adjust your chakra flow to compensate for the waves." He chuckled, "There was this one time my teammate walked on water in front of a few civilians. They bowed to him like he was Buddha."

Sakura sniggered at that, "That sounds funny."

Kakashi-sensei smiled wistfully, glancing over to the stone, "It was," he said, eyes misting over a bit. It was silent for a few seconds, before he cleared his throat, "Anyways, you guys should start."

"Alight!" Naruto yelled yanking the kunai in front of him out of the ground and rushing over to a tree, "I'll make it up in one shot, dattebayo!"

"I said to _walk_!" Kakashi-sensei snapped at him as he started to run up, only to slip a quarter of a meter up and fall on his butt. Sakura winced, Sasuke smirked, and Kakashi-sensei face-palmed, shaking his head at the kids antics. He didn't even have time to make a mark in the bark with his kunai he'd fallen so fats.

Sasuke pulled out his kunai next, walking over to the tree and pausing in front of it. The boy looked up into the foliage, sizing the tree up. He dipped his head back down and closed his eyes. Sakura assumed he was applying chakra to his feet, noticing that his eyebrows were drawing closer and closer together in concentration.

After a few seconds of watching him, she noticed that she was staring. Blushing, Sakura picked up her kunai and headed over to the tree in between Sasuke and Naruto. Unlike the other two, her trees first branch was relatively close to the ground, so if she needed to take a break on the way up, she'd be able to easily rest.

The boys would have to ether sit on the ground or keep going. Sakura placed her kunai in her mouth and held her hands up in front of her in the tiger hand seal. The pinkette took a breath and started to feel around for her chakra.

On her left, Naruto got two steps up the tree before he fell back down on his rump. "Dattebayo," he mumbled to himself, wiping his butt off and starting again.

' _He must have a lot of chakra to easily grab onto it,'_ Sakura thought to herself. She shook her head and closed her eyes again, telling herself that she needed to concentrate. Soon, she'd put her chakra into her hands and placed one of the tree, holding Kakashi-sensei's kunai with the other.

Sakura leaned back with all her weight and stumbled away from the tree a bit. "Okay," she muttered to herself, "I need more." She went through this process two more times before she got the right amount.

Stepping back, she applied the exact same amount of chakra to her feet and took a breath before stepping up onto the tree. She put her other foot on then tried to take another step, only to find she was stuck.

Kakashi-sensei's words from a bit earlier ran in her head, and she let the tiniest bit of the chakra run out before actually taking another step forward. She kept this up the entire time, making her way to the top branch.

Once she got there, she switched back to the perfect balance to steady herself. Grabbing onto the branch, she put her kunai in her mouth, then channeled the same amount of chakra into her palms before letting the energy on her feet go. Sakura swung onto the branch, sweaty and happy with herself.

Spitting the kunai into her palms, she threw it down to the bottom of her tree. "Done!" she called down, smiling. Naruto glanced up and gaped at her.

"Sakura-chan!" he yelled, "How'd you do that?!"

"I found balance like Kakashi-sensei said!" She replied. Over to the side, Sasuke scowled up at her and turned back to his tree. Sakura's face fell a bit. Was she being obnoxious? "It took me awhile, though," she added quickly, "It'll probably come to your guys soon."

It didn't. Sakura had already gotten out of her tree, which was way harder than getting up it, thank you very much, and was down on the ground, sitting cross-legged. Kakashi-sensei had told her about a chakra excursive where she had to change the levels of her chakra.

Her eyes snapped open, having been closed, when she heard yet another pop. Looking up, the pinkette found that Sasuke had used too much chakra, again. His tree was full of craters ranging in size, thought hey shrunk more and more the closer he got to the top.

Off to Sakura's other side, Naruto slipped from using too little chakra once more. The blond quickly slashed at his tree before falling back down to the ground. He wiped his brow and dashed up the trunk again, getting barely a centimeter closer to the top before he fell -sensei sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, "If he runs," the albino said, "Then he won't be learning control as much."

"He's getting up as far as Sasuke-san," Sakura pointed out.

"That's only because he's running," Kakashi-sensei explained, "If he walked, he'd barely be a meter to the top."

Sakura watched as the blond fell yet again, making another mark slightly above his previous one. The space between the slashes was getting thinner and thinner. "Is he reaching his limit?' Sakura asked.

Kakashi-sensei shook his head, "No, he's just only getting as far as he can before gravity takes a hold." The jonin turned to his student, "You tested your body weight and the amount of chakra you were using, right?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, so I knew how much I needed."

"The boys are using the same amount over and over," Kakashi-sensei said, motioning towards the girls teammates as both of them fell yet again, "They think they've already got the correct amount."

Sakura frowned, "But they don't," she said.

"Exactly."

"Should we tell them?" she asked.

Kakashi-sensei shook his head, "They need to figure it out for themselves," he reached over and scruffed the top of Sakura's head, which made her scowl, "You just have great chakra control."

"Really?" The sour expression she wore melted away as she looked to her sensei in amazement.

He nodded, "It's called a 'genjutsu type,'" he explained, before muttering the last part under his breath "Though the medics hate it when we call it that."

Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion, "Why?"

"Because medical shinobi need precise chakra control," he said, "They find the fact that we shove people who could be medics off to study things that 'won't use their talents as well' revolting."

Sakura hummed at that, "There aren't many medic-nin's," she said, "are there?"

"Nope, there aren't. The kunoichi on my team was one," he said, "Rin. You saw her name on the stone." Sakura winced a bit at that. "During war, all kunochi's were taught medical ninjutsu."

"Why just the girls?"

"They have more delicate control naturally than men do," Kakashi-sensei said, "Something about the reproductive system, but I'm not going into that." Sakura silently thanked him for that. "It'd be good if you became a genjutsu specialist, though."

"Why?"

"Sasuke could use weapons, Naruto could use taijutsu, and you could use genjutsu. I'd do the ninjutsu, and we'd be perfect." He turned to Sakura and smiled a bit, "At least, that's what I want to say. Naruto seems to already lean to ninjutsu, he mastered the kage bunshin _and_ made a new technique."

Sakura blushed at the memory of the henge test barely a week ago.

"And Sasuke," Kakashi-sensei continued, "while he'd still be good with weapons, would be best for genjutsu because of his heritage. You'd be best for taijutsu."

Sakura frowned, "But then what would I do with my chakra control. What if I want to become a medic?" It wasn't that much of a lie for Sakura, after all, it was one of her choices.

Kakashi-sensei just chuckled, "I think I know what you can do," he said.

Sakura looked up at her sensei, "What?" she asked.

He smiled, "Have you ever heard of the Legendary Sannin?"


End file.
